Jarvis Hospitalized; Aide Says He's 'Terminally Ill'

Howard Jarvis, the feisty anti-tax crusader who led a 1978 revolt against state property taxes that resulted in Proposition 13, has been hospitalized in critical condition, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Jarvis, 83, was admitted to Midway Hospital in Los Angeles last Tuesday and is "terminally ill," according to Joel Fox, executive director of Jarvis' California Tax Reduction Movement.

Jarvis was admitted for treatment of a blood disease, from which he suffered in 1982, and which can lead to internal bleeding, Fox said. Jarvis was hospitalized with the disease four years ago in Montreal.

Jarvis, who has devoted two decades to fighting rising property taxes, initially got nowhere with numerous campaigns to put a lid on them.

Then, in 1978, he co-authored, with Paul Gann of Sacramento, Proposition 13, a ballot initiative dramatically cutting property taxes. It was overwhelmingly approved by the voters. After his resounding victory, Jarvis was catapulted into national headlines and became a household name.